Early personal computers were desktop systems which were so heavy and so bulky that it was assumed they would be left in place once installed. However, the benefits of a transportable personal computer were recognized early on and considerable efforts have been made to develop lighter and more portable computers. The advent of new technologies has permitted the development of newer, smaller and lighter personal computers which are known by various names, such as notebook computers, laptop computers or even palmtop computers, depending on their relative size. Personal computers are now light enough and small enough that they can be carried as hand luggage and can be used almost anywhere, including the confines of most airline seats. Computers of this type are referred to generically as mobile computers in the following specification.
Some users, having acquired a mobile computer small enough and light enough to carry on an airplane, want to be able to use that computer for the duration of even long flights either in a standalone mode and/or to stay “in touch” with others. Some airlines are considering accommodating such users by installing what amounts to a local area network (LAN) in some of their airplanes. At least a limited number of the seats in the airplane would be connected to the LAN through standard telephone connections, including a standard telephone jack such as the RJ45 jack widely used throughout the United States and in some other countries. The LAN would include a server or base station which could be used to establish radio communications with ground-based stations or satellite systems. An authorized mobile computer user would access the LAN simply by plugging his modem telephone cable into an RJ45 jack located in an armrest or in the seatback or bulkhead ahead of him or her.
While the existence of an airplane LAN and the ability to connect to that LAN through standard telephony connections at an airplane seat will enable a mobile computer user to stay “in touch” with the outside world, that user will remain “in touch” only until his or her computer battery becomes discharged.
Even with the best battery technology currently available, it is not possible to operate most mobile computers for extended periods of time on battery power alone. Experienced travelers have attempted to avoid the problems of exhausted batteries by carrying spare batteries or even using the AC power outlet found in some airplane lavatories. Neither of these solutions is particularly appealing. Spare batteries are heavy and hard to install, particularly in the limited seating space available in most airplanes. An airplane lavatory is certainly not an ergonomically sound working environment and, in any event, is available on an extended basis only to a traveler who is willing to be totally indifferent to the discomfort of his or her fellow travelers.